Sportsnet floats wild offseason scenario for the Panthers

The NHL offseason is officially upon us after the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup. Of course, since the Florida Panthers did not qualify for the playoffs, social media has been filled with wild and crazy speculation, especially surrounding goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the long-term health of captain Aleksander Barkov, and now, rumors about Connor Hellebuyck.

At the moment, Florida does not have a single NHL-caliber goalie on their roster, so on Monday, Sportsnet included the team on the 11 Bold Predictions for the Offseason. Their solution for the Panthers’ potential goalie woes is: trade for St. Louis Blues starter Jordan Binnington.

Considering there are rumors out there that Hellebuyck is very interested in relocating to Florida, Sportsnet’s projected trade scenario came out of left field.

Binnington, as a rookie in 2018-19, helped the Blue win the Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins in Game 7 at TD Garden, arguably the most important game of his career. Because he was stellar in this first season, he earned All-Rookie honors.

However, when looking at his career since that championship run, Binnington’s playoff record is 7-14, with a single series in back in 2022. He may have helped Canada win the 4 Nations last February, but he only walked away with a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Overall, in nine seasons, Binnington’s record is 186-136-43 with 19 shutouts, a career .903 SV%, and 2.83 GAA. One of the biggest knocks on him is his character and his inability to keep his emotions in check, especially during the 2022-23 season when he collected 29 penalty minutes, a career-high.

Ultimately, Sportsnet believes the Panthers need to make a big splash because Bobrovsky is not coming back and will sign with the Los Angeles Kings instead.

If that is indeed the case, there’s an argument to make that he’ll be back in Florida someday in the future to see his number retired. As the only netminder to lead the Panthers to a championship, Bobrovsky compiled a 201-113-21 record in 349 games over the past seven seasons. In addition, he potentially finished his tenure with the club with a .903 SV% and 2.80 GAA.

Indeed, this potential swap of netminders would be intriguing. Heading into next season, Bobrovsky would be 38, while Binnington will be 33, so the Panthers could get a few more solid performances from the Blues’ netminder.

Meanwhile, one aspect of Florida’s goalie situation didn’t make the list of bold predictions, because there might not be any truth to it at all. But, if the rumors are true and Hellebuyck wants a trade to the Panthers, he’s the sure bet to help the franchise win another or more Stanley Cups.

As a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy last season while guiding the Winnipeg Jets to the Presidents’ Trophy. Also, he was on the other end of the ice when Jack Hughes scored the Golden Goal on Binnington, helping the United States to their first Olympic Goal since 1980.

If anyone wanted to talk about bold predictions regarding what the Panthers do with their upcoming goalie problem, it’s move whatever draft capital, prospects, or even veterans to pry Hellebuyck out of Winnipeg. He’s one of the few goalies in today’s NHL who could pick up the mantle from Bobrovsky, and pulling the trigger on that deal would be one of the boldest moves of Tallon’s career.

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